Comparatively late lockdown may have led to UK's "deeper recession": Anneliese Dodds

12 August 2020, 20:12

UK is facing a "deeper recession" than other European countries: Anneliese Dodds

The Shadow Chancellor suggested that the UK's comparatively late and long coronavirus lockdown has resulted in us experiencing the worst recession in Europe.

Anneliese Dodds told Iain Dale that "it was very clear that we were going to see some very worrying figures," this quarter which would put the UK into a recession amid the coronavirus crisis.

The Shadow Chancellor went on to note that "we seem to be having a deeper recession in the UK compared to all the other countries in the EU," which we admittedly couldn't predict.

Ms Dodds suggested "the Chancellor needs to change his tack," in the coronavirus fightback to regain public confidence to lift the economy out of a slump.

Iain wondered what the Shadow Chancellor put the UK's recession on, where she reminded him that "we went into lockdown relatively late and had a rather long lockdown," which allowed the economy to contract further than other countries'.

Ms Dodds added "we don't seem to see the resumption of consumer consumer confidence," as seen in other countries and she thought this could be down to an unreliable track and trace system.

"We need to get the test track isolate system working like it is in other countries, that will help to build confidence."

Iain noted that the UK's growth in June was higher than other OECD countries and wondered if this was any saving grace. Although Ms Dodds accepted it as a good sign, she noted that the UK's impending unemployment crisis is a bigger concern.

The Shadow Chancellor said that the issue is not only the massive job losses, but the scarcity of job openings, as uncertainty takes hold over the UK economy.

She told Iain that it is an area "where we need to see much more focus from government".

When asked whether the focus on job creation needs to be in the public or private sector, the Labour MP assured him "it's got to be both."

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